North to the Future! (Or, where I’ll be for the next week…)

Posted in Fun and Whimsy by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

You won’t be seeing much of me for the next week — and that’s a good thing!

I leave tomorrow on a one-week vacation with my daughter… and if I can just get through one last work day without any more crises falling on my head, I’ll be good to go!

Where am I going? Here’s a hint:

Need another? How about…

Or this one?

Give up yet? Does this help?

Yup, I’m heading north to beautiful Alaska! My daughter and I are meeting in Anchorage and then hitting the road! Which means this trip should be fabulous in two ways — a week with my awesome daughter and spending time in one of my very, very favorite places.

I haven’t packed yet. I know I need hiking boots, warm socks, lots of layers, and plenty of t-shirts. The pair of jeans I frantically ordered last week never arrived, and I think I need some travel-sized shampoo bottles, so I may need to make one final Target run on the way home today. Mustn’t forget my armloads of electronics — phone, Kindle, laptop, GPS — and all of their assorted chargers.

Most importantly, my reading material! Normally, when I go on trips, I love to throw a bunch of paperbacks into my suitcase — books that I’ve had for a while, books that I’ve been meaning to get to, books that are already a bit battered so it won’t matter if they get smooshed or damp or left behind for someone else once I’m done. Since this is just a one-week trip, so I don’t need to be overly ambitious with my reading plans, but so far I’m planning to finish the book I just started (which is SO GOOD so far!):

And then, I can’t wait to read:

And if I still need more to read (there’s a lot of flying time involved… ), my next choices will probably be one of these:

In terms of blogging, I’ll be mostly offline — or at least, that’s what I’m thinking right now. I’ll be skipping most of my regular weekly posts, and any upcoming reviews will have to wait until I’m back.

Don’t worry, Thursday Quotables will happen as usual! I’ve already scheduled a Thursday Quotables post for next week, so come join in and link up!

Meanwhile, here’s wishing everyone a terrific week filled with good times and great reading. See you soon!

In the immortal words of the former governor of my great state…

PS – Pretty photos up top taken by moi on my last trip to Alaska in 2013!

5Feb2015

Let’s leverage our core competencies!

Posted in Fun and Whimsy by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Whatever happened to speaking concisely and saying what you mean?

Oh, wait, I know: Business-speak happened.

I’ve been in one too many meetings lately where a speaker gets so bogged down in biz-speak jargon that it’s practically impossible to understand the point.

Granted, this isn’t a book-related post — but as a reader, I’m pretty sensitive to the use and abuse of language, and I’ve just about reached my limit when it comes to listening to people mangle the English language.

Here are a few gems that a certain coworker has been using again and again and AGAIN. (These are practically verbal tics. It’s like he uses a phrase, and enjoys it so much that he uses it twelve more times. Sometimes during the same conversation.)

Moving the needle — as in, “we’re trying to move the needle on customer engagement”. How about just saying “improve”?
Clearing the decks — um, do you mean finish what we’re working on?
Thought partners — no idea on this one.
Thinking outside the envelope — mixed metaphors much?
Many questions that I want to seed — okay, that sounds a bit gross.
We have a playbook of options — ugh, sports metaphors in the workplace.
Low hanging fruit — used four times in a one-hour meeting!
Where there’s smoke, there’s fire — used twice in the same meeting.
Pinch points — I can’t even.

There are also buzzwords — nothing wrong with them in and of themselves — but used constantly, they’ve become practically meaningless. Like…

collegial
collaborative
world view

And then there are the words that are perfectly fine, except when they’re misused or overused, such as:

Mitigate — Apparently, every problem ever faced needs to be mitigated.
Craft — Nothing is ever written or created. “Can you craft a memo?” “I’m crafting a message about the project.” How very crafty it all sounds.
Disperse — as in “we serve a very disperse clientele”. Um, I don’t think that word means what you think it means.

On the plus side, at least we’ve finally gotten certain folks to stop saying the oh-so-redundant “new innovations”!

I could go on… but I think you get the point.

Do you run across jargon abusers in your daily life? Have you heard anything lately that really drives you insane?

Please share… let’s commiserate!

Or better yet… let’s engage in a collaborative process to craft a thoughtweb! Argh.

1Jan2015

Happy New Year!

Posted in Fun and Whimsy by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Wishing you a year filled with laughter, love, health, and great books!

20Jan2014

New release + giveaway: Board Stiff by Piers Anthony

Posted in Fun and Whimsy by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

I’m delighted to share the cover and synopsis of the newest fantasy novel from Piers Anthony:

The 38th installment of the Xanth fantasy series will delight fans of the witty and comical style that only Piers Anthony can deliver. Best known for his Xanth series, Anthony is the author of over 100 books and has had more than twenty-one novels hit the best-seller list.

Be careful what you wish for…

“I’m actually a smart girl who would make any man an excellent wife. But no man sees that. No man is interested in my mind or personality, just my whatevers. So here is my wish: I’m board stiff. I want Adventure, Excitement, and Romance.”

So begins Piers Anthony’s 38th Xanth novel, in which Irrelevant Candy, looks at her reflection in the water of the shallow well and sees luxuriant midnight black hair to her breathtakingly slender waist, matching dark eyes in a lovely face. A torso coming yea-close to absolute perfection. She was man’s desire. That was part of the problem.

And in the shallow magic of a wishing well, she asks her wish to be granted. Something happens. A sudden whirlwind surrounds her, lifting her up and ripping off her clothing. She is changing, somehow. Then she falls flat on the ground.

Literally. She has been transformed into a flat, stiff board with two knotholes for eyes.

What fun! If you’re a fan of fantasy, be sure to enter to win a print copy of Board Stiff! (Giveaway available to US residents only… sorry!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

10Jan2014

Roomies: Share your roomie stories… plus, a giveaway!

Posted in Fun and Whimsy by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Back in December, I posted my review of the wonderful new novel Roomies by Sara Zarr and Tara Altebrando. Roomies is funny, touching, surprising, and feels just so real… and now you get a chance to win a copy!

We all have a roomie story, right? Whether good or bad — or truly the roommate from hell — it seems like nothing is quite so memorable as trying to live with a randomly assigned stranger.

For me, my freshman roommate is a distant memory, someone I never saw again after we moved out of our teeny, tiny dorm room at the end of the year. I wrote a little bit about her already in my Roomies review, but here are a couple more nightmarish moments from my early college days:

Joanne was a super thin and very stylish girl who dreamed of becoming a model. And yet, despite being tiny, she insisted on buying jeans that were a size smaller than what she needed. One day I came back to the room to grab a textbook and she yelled, “Wait! I need your help!” She then lay down on my bed, since the zipper of her super-tight jeans would only budge if she was horizontal, and begged me to zip her jeans for her.

Joanne attracted boys like a magnet… and collected them as well. In each of her classes, she would zero in on some ultra-smart boy, flirt enough to get him interested, and then keep them around like her own personal puppy dog. We had a non-stop stream of nerdy boys who would show up in our room whenever Joanne needed help with studying or an assignment — her own private army of personal tutors/devoted slaves.

Joanne used our landline phone to call her boyfriend long-distance at all hours of the night or day… and then when the phone bill came, said she couldn’t afford her share, refused to ask her father (a cardiologist) for money because he’d yell at her, and then blamed me when our phone service got cut off because I wouldn’t pay her bill.

Those are my top roomie-from-hell stories. Fortunately, after freshman year, I moved in with the best bunch of people ever and made life-long friends who I’ll love forever! Don’t you love a happy ending?

GIVEAWAY TIME!

Little, Brown is offering a copy of Roomies to one lucky winner (US residents only). Just click on the link to enter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

AND, by offering this giveaway, I’m entered in a “Win One for You and Your Reader” sweepstakes! The prize is a Roomie survival kit/gift pack including earplugs, home spa essentials, a signed copy of the book, a special note from the authors, and other fun things—all packed in a shower caddy— one for me and one for one of my blog readers. Sounds amazing, right? Wish us all good luck!

Be sure to check out Sara and Tara’s appearances on their book tour starting next week:

January 12, 2014 – New York, NY: McNally Jackson [venue link]
January 15, 2014 – Salt Lake City, UT: The King’s English [venue link]
January 16, 2014 – Provo, UT: Provo Library [venue link]
February 4, 2014 – San Francisco, CA: Books Inc, Opera Plaza [venue link]
February 5, 2015 – Petaluma, CA: Copperfield’s Books [venue link]

What’s your best or worst roomie story? Share your tales of woe or joy in the comments!

Happy New Year!

Wishing you a year filled with laughter, love, health, and great books!

20Nov2013

Pre-Order RACING SAVANNAH by Miranda Kenneally & get a cool gift!

Posted in Fun and Whimsy by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Hi all – I couldn’t pass up this opportunity to highlight an upcoming new YA release AND pass along a great gift offer! Read on for the details, courtesy of Sourcebooks!

From Sourcebooks….

They’re from two different worlds, but Savannah isn’t exactly one to follow the rules. . . get the next contemporary novel from blockbuster YA novelist Miranda Kenneally: RACING SAVANNAH!

Right before her senior year, Savannah’s father whisks the family off to Tennessee to work as head groom at fancy Cedar Hill Farms. Savannah finally sees it as the perfect opportunity to earn extra money as an exercise rider—no matter how many others don’t want a girl around the barn. But she’s also caught the eye of Jack Goodwin, the owner’s son. She knows the rules: no mixing between the staff and the Goodwin family. But Jack has no such boundaries. With her dream of becoming a jockey, Savannah is not going to let someone tell her a girl isn’t tough enough to race. Sure, it’s dangerous. Then again, so is dating Jack.

We’ve put together a fun campaign to thank readers for pre-ordering: send us your proof of pre-order and we’ll send you this fabulous horseshoe key chain!

A Gift for You, for Pre-Ordering RACING SAVANNAH by Miranda Kenneally

We have a special offer for U.S. and Canada YA fans for the release of RACING SAVANNAH by Miranda Kenneally in stores in a little over three weeks! If you pre-order the book, we will send you an exclusive horseshoe key chain—perfect for any busy teen on the go! You have until December 2 or until quantities run out.

Here’s how to get your charm:
1. Pre-order the book (print or eBook) through any retailer (Barnes & Noble, Amazon, your local independent bookseller/Indiebound, Books-A-Million, Hastings, etc.)

2. Email your proof of purchase (receipt or picture of the receipt) to teenfire@sourcebooks.com. Put “Racing Savannah Pre-Order” in the subject line. Don’t forget to include your home address (US & Canada only please) so we can send you the horseshoe key chain! If you’ve already pre-ordered this book—not a problem! Send us your receipt!

3. You will get an email back confirming when the items have been sent out.

4. Enjoy Racing Savannah when it comes out in December!

Optional: take a pic of you and your horseshoe key chain and share it with Miranda Kenneally or Sourcebooks Fire on Twitter! You can find Miranda @mirandakennealy and Sourcebooks Fire @sourcebooksfire.

What I did on my summer vacation

Warning: A non-bookish post!

I took time away from Bookshelf Fantasies at the end of June to go on a 10-day vacation to Costa Rica. I had mentioned my plans here in the context of picking out my vacation reading (thanks for your help with that!), but since then I’ve had several blog readers ask me how the trip was and asking to see pictures. So, begging your indulgence, here’s a smattering of my favorite Costa Rica pictures. Bottom line: Big iguanas, lots of rain, howler monkeys in trees, terrific scenery, beautiful plants and growing things, plenty o’ birds, and even some crocodiles!